The Malone University men's basketball team suffered a 73-57 defeat on Thursday evening in its Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest at Hillsdale College.

The Pioneers trailed by just two at 45-43 with a little over 13 minutes to play but then were held scoreless over the next six and half minutes as the Chargers took command with a 15-0 run.

Malone was unable to recover, falling to 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the G-MAC.  With the victory, Hillsdale improved to 6-3 overall and 3-0 in conference games.

Game Recap
The Pioneers' Daylan Haynie scored the first points of the evening, putting the visitors in front on a driving lay-up.  The Chargers quickly responded, tallying the game's next 10 points on their way to grabbing a 20-6 advantage eight and a half minutes into the contest.

Malone fought back from the early deficit, using a 17-5 scoring surge to pull within 25-23 with a little less than three minutes to go in the opening period.  Six different Pioneers registered points during the run that was capped off by a three-pointer from near the top of the key by freshman forward Daniel Goldrick - the first trey of his Malone career.

The Chargers took a 29-25 lead into the locker room at the break.  Malone cut it to one at 40-39 on a free throw by Nate Sheppard.  Following a pair of baskets by the Chargers, the Pioneers then trimmed it back down to two at 45-43 on a lay-up by forward Ben Evans. 

Unfortunately for Malone, following Evans' bucket at the 13:16 mark, the Pioneers would not score again until an Evans free throw with just under seven minutes left.    

Malone got within 60-48 with five and half minutes to play on a jumper by guard Bryce Butler.  However, the hosts answered back with a three-pointer and then maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
 
Game Highlights
-The Chargers shot 60% from the field during the second half while outscoring the Pioneers by a 44-32 margin
-The 57 points marked Malone's lowest output since January of last season in a 61-57 defeat at Trevecca Nazarene University; The Pioneers also had trouble finding their offensive rhythm in last December's road game against Hillsdale as the team was held to a season-low 51
-Overall, Hillsdale shot 50.9% from the floor during Thursday's contest while making 40% (eight of 20) of its three-pointers and 68.8% of its foul shots
-Malone made 42.6% of its shot attempts, 33.3% (five of 15) of its treys and 66.7% of its free throws
-The Chargers held a slim 32-31 edge in total rebounds and outscored Malone 38-30 in the paint
-Hillsdale committed only five turnovers on the night while scoring 16 points off 11 Malone miscues
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Sheppard totaled a team-high 15 points while grabbing four rebounds
-Butler added 14 points on six of 10 shooting from the floor.  He also tallied six boards
-Evans totaled nine points and five rebounds
-Sehill Mouliom contributed six points off the bench
-Haynie registered six points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals
 
Hillsdale Individual Highlights
-Davis Larson poured in a game-high 22 points
-Dylan Lowry followed with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists
-Harrison Niego recorded 12 points and six boards
 
Up Next:
Malone will take on NCAA Division II's 17th-ranked team, the University of Findlay, in a 3:00 p.m. road contest on Saturday.